era. It tells the story oi a poor bean-curd seller's hard ssoik to create a better Iiieior herself and her husband. an existence that is to change ss hen she is accused by a militant .\laoist oi scli-aggrandisenient at the expense oi the state. (ilasgoss : (il-"l. I Highlandert 15) Christopher Lambert. Beatie Iidncy . Sean (‘onnciy llhmins A handiul oi immortals battle through the centuriestossin a mythical prize A curious mixture oi romance in loth century heather and car chases in present day .\'ess York the irlm is an iriclcgant. ortcit ludicrous. but enioyably daffy iantasy ads cnture.

Lambert seems more at liorric ss ith the contemporary passages and only the es er ssonderiul (‘onnery has the requisitcstylc

An episodic narratis e. occasionally somcss Iiat lacking in pace. The Horse Hire/lingers on the rites and rituals ofthc tribe ss ith a steely gaze that renders their strangeness all the more striking. (ilaggoss : (ii-'1‘.

Reitherman. I 'S. I‘M") With the soicesoi (icorge Sanders. I.otris l’rrma “S mins. (irossing tip in the iiiriglc. yotirig Mossglr learns from the animals around him Iinioy able lattcrday Disney . a longssay aiter' Kipling. but the songs are ssoridcriul. (ilasgoss: ()dcon. I The King OiThe Children l i’( ‘ii i ('heri Kaigc. (Irina. 195M Xte Yuan. Yang. Xuesseri. Ill“ mins. Lidinburgh: I‘rlmhouse I The Last Emperort ii i t Bernardo Bertolucci. ltaly China. IVS-’lltihiilnne. Peter ()"I‘oole. Joan (hen. lb: mins. Peking. NUS. a three year-old boy ascends to the Imperial Throne to become the ‘Lord of'I‘cn Thousand Years'. A merc5‘) years later. hoss cs er. he dies a humble gardener in a (‘hina that is noss the Maoist People's Republic.

lritelligcnt epic iollossingthc self-delusion and re-education of a man shaped by a superseded poss er structure. A little cold perhaps. but the production and cinematography are ofsuch exquisitcncss that one orin ssishes the film sycrc longer. Sirathclydc: ('lydebank If). I Last Tango in Parisr Ib’liBernardo Bertolucci. France Italy. WT?) Marlon Brando. Maria Schneider. I30 mitts. A young l’arisicnne meets a middle-aged man ss ith whom she des clops an increasingly siolent and purely sexual relationship. One of the key filmsofits